Mark Davis is sticking–and is sort of stuck–with coach Dennis Allen and GM Reggie McKenzie, at least for one more season, and they’re sort of stuck with and sticking with him.

This is prudent. This is reasonable. This is realistic. This also might get more than a little uncomfortable, but that happens, too.

Instead of ditching and running (and absorbing the high price of having to pay off one staff and then hire another), this is sucking it up and playing out the full course of the decisions that were made two years ago, and letting it all ride on the 2014 season.

Oh, and course, this might not work, in precisely the same way that the last two seasons haven’t worked out for the Raiders under McKenzie and Allen’s tenure.

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We’ll find out in the coming season, which Davis has essentially set up as an “all-in” moment for his hand-picked GM and his GM’s hand-picked coach, who have so far produced back-to-back 4-win seasons.

So Dennis Allen stays, mainly because that’s what McKenzie wanted.

That’s McKenzie re-betting his tenure on Allen, and Allen wanted to stay because he’s still betting that McKenzie can get him a quarterback and all the other players the Raiders need to field a competitive roster.

And Davis is maintaining stability, in some part, because there is no guarantee that a top-line coach would want to come to the Raiders now… with McKenzie a potential lame-duck GM for 2014.
It’s impractical to do this in stages; if Davis is going to go with a new management team, he might as well do it all at the same time, and that would be after the 2014 season, unless Allen and McKenzie prove that they’re worth a long stay with the Raiders.
What does that mean? Maybe 9-7 or bust, or at least play meaningful games into mid-December. Or there’ll be a new management era for the Raiders.

Yep, why not make 2014 a double-lame duck season? This how it’s set up now: The GM and the coach who came in together both letting it all ride together on one season, and they show major progress or both are possibly out the door.

Together. Which is the most prudent and patient thing for Mark Davis to bet on for 2014.

They’re all still stuck with each other, as they have been for two years.

This is what Davis told me all the way back on Dec. 11, noting that the last two years were the “deconstruction” of the Raiders and that this off-season begins the reconstruction:

“It’s an exciting time for us,” Davis said. “It’s also been a tough time for the fans, it’s been a tough time for me, it’s been a tough time for everybody.

“But what do they say about patience? If you’re committed to something, you have to be patient with it.”

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Davis let the coach dangle for a week, and maybe is making things a little unstable by refusing to give assistant coaches more than one-year deals, but the end result is that Allen and probably most of his staff stays on for 2014.

Maybe at this moment both sides are a little unhappy with the other, which is normal and understandable.

Nobody should be thrilled with 8 wins in two seasons, nobody should be pleased with the barren roster McKenzie and Allen inherited and nobody should give thumbs up to some of the mistakes subsequently made by the new GM and new coach.

But the only way it can work is if Davis gives McKenzie one more season to reconstruct the Raiders roster and if McKenzie remains confident that Allen can push that roster into anything close to playoff-contention.
It all comes down to one season now. All the chips are on the table in 2014, there’s nothing left to bet on, except each other’s reputations, and everybody knows it. This ought to be entertaining.

You’ve been preaching that Allen should stay for over a month now, Tim. So are you enthusiastic about Davis’ choice?

Mark M

WoooHooooo…..a double lame duck season. Commitment to excellence. Can’t wait to see this product. The fallout will be more entertaining I’m betting.

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Tim,
I don’t understand how you can justify or why you attempt to make McKenzie out to look bad in this situation. I think the consensus around the league is that this project of becoming the Raider’s GM was extraordinary. I accept the case you can make concerning Matt Flynn and this years first round draft pick. But on the aggregate, those are flimsy arguments against McKenzie.
I’m not a Raider’s fan and I don’t hate you. I’m not angry and I’m not yelling at you. But I do wish you would clarify or explain why you think McKenzie should/may be fired if Allen & his staff don’t put together a respectable season. I only lightly follow the Raiders but it seems from the distant outside looking in that the Raiders are going in the right direction under McKenzie as GM. What is your case against him being retained?

Jmoney949

This sounds fair. Most raider fans want the best coaches.. but good coaches won’t come here with instability. We need to give RM/DA a fair shot with a halfway decent roster. Right now they are under par with their performance (Draft picks and season record) but still need at least one good year with money and full line of draft picks to perform.

wildsach

DA has the resources/picks to get what he needs to make this a .500 next season. I like DA & Olson, not so much w/ Tarver but what is, is. I imagine DA will fight to keep them if MD has other plans. As stated in other posts, no more excuses, no more sub .500 teams.

ssclesq

face it , harbaugh will have some change in his staff, most likely roman. who do we get? i like the wco tree with hard running. anyone want to give rathman a chance at oc? at least we know their will be pass plays to rbs, which this team needs.

Stan

Dennis Allen couldn’t coach his way out of an elevator.
Just a waste of more Raiders years,more blackouts. Al had one dumb football kid.